Court set-back to France’s EDF nuclear supply contracts
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France’s EDF suffers second setback over nuclear supply contracts, https://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL8N2D93OF PARIS, May 27 (Reuters) – A French court ruling on Wednesday ordered state-controlled utility EDF to accept Gazel Energy’s suspension of supply contracts under a force majeure clause prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.In the decision, seen by Reuters, the president of the Paris commercial court said conditions for force majeure in ARENH nuclear power contracts between the two companies were “evidently met”.
The verdict followed a similar ruling last week that ordered EDF to accept Total’s suspension of supply contracts. Total and Gazel Energy have sought to invoke the force majeure clause in contracts after the pandemic cut electricity demand by around 20% and pushed prices far below that specified in their existing agreements. (Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; writing by Matthieu Protard; editing by Jason Neely) |
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Soaring costs of UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear project, and other nuclear plans, while renewables get cheaper
  Business Green 27th May 2020, significant concerns surround the high costs associated with new nuclear power, particularly in the wake of the controversial Hinkley PointC project in Somerset, which has soared £2.9bn over budget so far and is running 15 months behind schedule. EDF said Sizewell C would use the same
design as Hinkely Point C, and would therefore benefit from “significantly reduced construction costs and lower risk”. Financing could also help reduce costs even further, it added. Chinese state-owned firm CGN also holds a 20 per cent stake in the development phase of Sizewell C. The same company also holds a 33 per cent stake in Hinkley Point C. But many green
groups argue renewable power sources coupled with battery storage and grid flexibility technologies offer a far cheaper and more reliable, zero carbon source of electricity for the UK grid. A report last year by think tank ECIU argued the UK should look to scale up wind and solar rather than nuclear energy capacity going forward. Greenpeace UK chief scientist Doug
Parr said EDF’s decision to push for new nuclear power in the face of “cheaper, safer, faster and far more popular alternatives” being pursued elsewhere in the world was “difficult to explain”. “For half a century Britain was overly-optimistic about the technology, but we don’t have to keep making the same mistake,” he said. “All it would take to knock billions off our future energy bills is for the government to admit they are backing the wrong horse. Energy technologies and economics have changed enormously over the past five years, and energy policy needs to change with them.” |
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UK’s National Trust says new Sizewell C nuclear power station poses threat to rare birds
National Trust. A new nuclear power station planned for the Suffolk coast
would threaten rare wildlife on protected heathland, according to the
National Trust.
submitted to the Planning Inspectorate tomorrow, to build twin reactors at
Sizewell in a project that the French state-controlled company says would
supply enough low carbon electricity for six million homes, or 7 per cent
of UK power.
that is one of Britain’s rarest habitats and is home to a breeding
population of endangered stone curlews. It has written to the leaders of
East Suffolk council and Suffolk county council to raise concerns about the
proposed £18 billion plant, which EDF would build with the Chinese nuclear
power company China General Nuclear (CGN). Stop Sizewell C, a local
campaign group, said the power stations “would be an expensive bridge to
nowhere: it will suck vital funds away from the technologies and projects
that are more capable of truly transforming our energy landscape”.
including the actors Bill Nighy and David Morrissey and the painter Maggi
Hambling, called on the government to step in to delay consideration of the
proposal until the coronavirus restrictions were lifted. Mr Nighy, who used
to live in Theberton with his former partner, the actress Diana Quick,
said: “It is beyond belief that EDF is pressing forward during these
terrible and uncertain times with a project so misguided, and which even
the government’s own advisers find deeply concerning.
will not fit to any degree in our new world, and this internationally
famous environment will be desecrated. This is a time to protect our
ecosystems, not shatter them.”
New Luxembourg law allows claims over nuclear accidents
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New Luxembourg law allows claims over nuclear accidents, Liability law passed with eyes on nearby Cattenom power plant, which reported more than 40 low-level incidents in 2018, CORDULA SCHNUER, 26.05.2020 Lawmakers passed a new law on Tuesday allowing residents to seek damages for nuclear power accidents, two weeks after the government launched a campaign against nuclear waste storage near its border.Fifty-six out of 60 parliament members voted in favour of the law that will allow victims of a nuclear accident living in Luxembourg up to 30 years to claim damages in one of the Grand Duchy’s courts. …. (subscribers only) https://luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/40796-new-luxembourg-law-allows-claims-over-nuclear-accidents
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Sizewell nuclear planning application should be rejected until coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted
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East Anglian Daily Times 24th May 2020, EDF Energy could be set this week to submit its final plans for a new £14billion nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast to the Government – despite widespread anger over the timing of the application. Community leaders across east Suffolk, along with many influential organisations and a host of celebrities have demanded that the power giant puts its plans for the new Sizewell C twin reactor on hold until after the coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted. They fear that current bans on public
meetings and people getting together even in small groups, plus the continued closure of libraries, will prevent many from seeing the full plans, debating them and giving their views. Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dr Dan Poulter has written to Government ministers urging them to reject the planning application, known as the Development Consent Order, until after the Covid-19 crisis. News that the application is about to be made has left them deeply disappointed and saying it is the most inappropriate time to do so. https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/sizewell-c-dco-submission-wednesday-may-27-1-6668608 |
UK’s new nuclear plants – nearly all parts are sourced and/or funded from China and France
David Lowry’s Blog 24th May 2020, Letter from David Lowry to The Times: Your important revelation follows Johnson’s assertion to MPs on Wednesday that he is pursuing “measures
to protect our technological base.” The initiative, “Project Defend,”
is aimed at creating a new national resilience framework, which, The Times
reports, will address the current over-reliance on China for “medical and
other strategic imports.”
One such strategic import is civil nuclear
technology, on which UK is 100 per cent reliant on foreign suppliers for
the critical core reactor infrastructure, with the Hinkley C nuclear plant
under construction by French state generator, Electricite de France ( EdF)
using French technology, supported by French and Chinese capital
investment.
The next new nuclear plant in line for construction, at
Sizewell C in Suffolk, will have 20per cent of its costs paid for by
Chinese state company China General Nuclear.
The third new plant, at
Bradwell in Essex, is planned to entirely built using 100 per cent Chinese/
French designed technology, mostly imported, and backed by 62 per cent
Chinese funding. It would also be operated by a primarily Chinese technical
team. Only smaller parts for these new plants will be sourced from the UK
supply chain.
http://drdavidlowry.blogspot.com/2020/05/uk-china-nuclear-relations-need-reset.html
Finland’s new nuclear reactor hit by valve leak
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Finland’s new nuclear reactor hit by valve leak, SwissInfo Ch MAY 25, 2020 HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s long-delayed Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) nuclear reactor was hit by another setback after the nation’s safety watchdog reported valve problems in a component involved in the cooling process.
The reactor in western Finland was built by a consortium of France’s Areva and Germany’s Siemens and had been due to start producing electricity in November this year. “A leak was observed in the mechanical control valve of one of the pressuriser safety valves,” nuclear watchdog STUK said in a statement on Monday, adding that a full investigation is required before it can issue a nuclear fuel loading permit. “This is very serious,” STUK’s head of inspection, Iiro Paajanen, told Reuters, adding that the leak was in part of the reactor’s primary circuit and involved in its cooling. However, Areva said the issue is unlikely to cause further delay for the reactor, which was originally due to be completed in 2009. ….. Although Finland’s government issued an operating permit for the 1.6 gigawatt reactor in March 2019, OL3 needs final approval from STUK to load fuel and start production. “At present, the plant unit still has several outstanding issues before a loading permit can be issued,” STUK wrote in its January-April safety report. Reporting by Anne Kauranen and Tarmo Virki; Editing by Alexander Smith and David Goodman) https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/finland-s-new-nuclear-reactor-hit-by-valve-leak/45783642 |
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Sweden gets a new Nuclear Emergency Plan
Nuclear Engineering International 22d May 2020, Sweden’s Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) announced this week, that inaccordance with an SSM proposal, the government had decided on new emergency zones for operations with ionising radiation.
For Swedish nuclear power plants, this means an internal and an external emergency zone as well
as a planning zone with an approximate extent of 5, 25 and 100 kilometres
respectively. “The change is important in order to improve the
possibility of implementing effective protective measures in connection
with a nuclear accident,” SSM said.
In 2017, SSM, in collaboration with the Swedish Agency for Social Protection and Emergency Preparedness, the County Administrative Boards in Uppsala, Kalmar, Hallands, Södermanland,
Västmanland and Skåne and the municipality of Lund and the Rescue
Services South, reported an assignment to the government where the agency
proposed to make emergency preparedness zones.
The Government has now
decided on a new regulation (2003: 789) on accident prevention, which means
that the emergency zones for nuclear facilities are being redone, in
accordance with that proposal. In the zones, iodine tablets should be
pre-distributed, the population should be able to be alerted quickly and
there must be a planning for evacuation and indoor stay. Evacuation of the
internal emergency zone must be prioritised over evacuation of the external
emergency zone.
A planning zone will also be introduced where there will be
a planning for evacuation based on radiation from the ground cover
radiation, a planning for indoor living and a planning for limited extra
distribution of iodine tablets. “This means, when the emergency zones are
fully implemented, that Sweden meets international requirements for
emergency preparedness for these operations, while lessons learned from the
nuclear accident in Fukushima have been taken care of, said SSM specialist
Jan Johansson.
https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsnew-emergency-zones-for-swedish-nuclear-power-plants-7936755
Lithuania, Belarus sign nuclear incident notification agreement
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Lithuania, Belarus sign nuclear incident notification agreement
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-26 01:02:32|Editor: huaxia VILNIUS, May 25 — The nuclear safety authorities of Lithuania and Belarus signed an agreement on early notification of a nuclear accident and on the exchange of important nuclear safety information, Lithuania’s State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) announced here on Monday.
In order to protect the public by minimizing the potential radiation-related risks and consequences, the two authorities agreed to exchange key information immediately after a nuclear incident or when the monitoring systems indicate a radiation dose-rate level that could be hazardous to the public health, said a VATESI press release. ….. Lithuania’s authorities have regularly raised questions about the environmental and nuclear safety of the Ostrovets nuclear power plant in Belarus…..http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-05/26/c_139087159.htm |
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Britain will have to decide whether it wants nuclear power stations funded — and powered — by China.
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Times 24th May 2020, The great China dilemma: Caught between two superpowers, Britain faces difficult decisions on everything from nuclear power to medicine. On the picturesque Suffolk coast, a battle is intensifying that will help define Britain’s relationship with China. In one corner is a group of celebrities and locals, including the Love Actually actor Bill Nighy, and Andy Wood, chief executive of Adnams brewery in Southwold. In the other are two nuclear power giants, Electricité de France (EDF) and China General Nuclear (CGN).
China and France want to build Sizewell C, a nuclear power station capable of supplying 7% of the UK’s electricity. The Stop Sizewell C campaigners share one concern with some politicians, notably the hard right of the Conservative Party: why is Britain relying on China to
supply its electricity? “China is adept at cyber-attacks,” said Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C. “I would doubt whether there could be a 100% cast-iron guarantee that operating systems were immune to that. Even if you set aside security concerns, you’ve got real vulnerabilities with a government that is prepared to use economic sanctions.” Sizewell is just a part of the communist state’s Belt and Road initiative to dominate the world with cash, technology and influence. It plans to use the UK as a showcase for its nuclear technology, with state-owned CGN providing 20% of the funds for Sizewell.
China is also helping bankroll the delayed and over-budget Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset. However, the bigger prize lies on the Essex coast at Bradwell. There, 40 miles east of London, CGN wants to install its homegrown HPR1000 nuclear reactors. CGN will be the two-thirds owner of the Bradwell plant, EDF the junior partner.
EDF and CGN claim that the power stations will be impervious to cyber attack. In
Britain, a new China-sceptic organisation, the China Research Group, has been formed by Tory MPs led by Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs select committee. It is a far cry from the “golden era” in Sino-British relations promised by David Cameron in 2015, when Chinese
president Xi Jinping visited the UK and the pair drank pints in a pub. At CGN, concern is growing about the rising tide of Sinophobia and its investment in the UK. As the Chinese embassy in London pumps out defensive statements about China’s role in tackling Covid-19, Britain will have to decide whether it wants nuclear power stations funded — and powered — by China. CGN’s UK chief executive, Zheng Dongshan, is understood to have
pressed energy minister Nadhim Zahawi for clarity around the UK’s intentions on new nuclear. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/the-great-china-dilemma-6rdmhw3wl |
Doubts on the funding of Britain’s £18bn Sizewell nuclear plan
Times 24th May 2020, EDF submits £18bn nuclear plan. Energy giant EDF is poised to submit plans for an £18bn nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast, stoking tensions
over China’s role in Britain’s critical infrastructure. EDF is expected
to submit a development consent order (DCO) to the planning inspectorate on
Wednesday — a crucial stage in building Sizewell C, which will supply 7%
of the country’s electricity. China General Nuclear (CGN) is funding 20%
of the Sizewell development, with the French state power company
shouldering the rest of the cost, although sources said CGN may opt not to
fund its construction.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/edf-submits-18bn-nuclear-plan-lsc3q8378
Lithuania wants to stop Belarus new nuclear plant, so close to the border
The facility at Ostrovets – also called Astravyets – lies just 45 kilometres from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and is set to go online in July.
It’s Belarus’ first nuclear plant and comes 34 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine caused havoc in the south of the country.
While France has dozens of nuclear reactors, many countries, including Germany, have pledged to phase theirs out. The amount of electricity generated by nuclear in the EU dropped from around 45% in 2006 to 28% in 2018.
For Belarus, it’s a source of pride. The 2.4-GW power plant — built with Russian money and supervision — will lessen that nation’s dependence on Moscow for energy.
Ostrovets Unit 1 reactor is expected to go online in July, while the near-identical Ostrovets 2 is set for a sign-off in the fall.
But, since the outset of the project in 2011, Lithuania has been vehemently against it. Vilnius claims it is a geopolitical scheme spearheaded by Russia to keep Lithuania quiet and keep Belarus on a tighter lead.
“The plant is being built in breach of safety standards, including the UN’s Espoo and Aarhus conventions,” Arvydas Sekmokas, Lithuania’s former energy minister, told Euronews.
“Minsk has disregarded International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommendations made after the Fukushima disaster that plants should not be built within 100 kilometres of major population centres.
“I still believe that we still can halt the project. Otherwise, not only Lithuania but all of Europe can pay a heavy price for it.
“The world knows very well the praise-worthy stories of Austria and Sweden, which shut down their nuclear plants after they were already built.”
Lithuania has held drills to prepare for a nuclear emergency. Vilnius, with a population of more than half a million people, would have to be evacuated in the worst-case scenario of an accident at Ostrovets………
Bosses at Hinkley Point C have slashed 80 roles after employees worked throughout the coronavirus lockdown
named, said the news came as a ‘bitter pill’ after he risked his own health
to still work at the construction site during the last few months. The
worker was made “redundant with immediate effect” on Friday afternoon (May
15). He said: “We have struggled every day during this pandemic and the way
EDF has managed the outbreak. This has made the risk we have being taking
coming to site every day one bitter sweet pill to swallow.”
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/local-news/hinkley-point-c-cuts-80-4147171
Sellafield’s safety dilemma- risk of coronavirus versus risk of nuclear accident
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Sellafield work must resume despite coronavirus lockdown in case of ‘nuclear incident’, says boss LancsLive By Steve Robson, Ian Molyneaux, 12 MAY 2020The boss of Sellafield has said decommissioning work needs to resume despite the coronavirus lockdown in case there is a ‘nuclear incident’.
The site near Seascale has been running at less than a fifth of normal operations for several weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with around 1,500 key staff in work. Normally, Sellafield would have up to 8,000 people on site every day. At the beginning of May, a further 120 people came back to work, mainly attending off-site offices in Warrington to access specialist equipment and software. The company says it is making its way through a “cautious, limited, phased restart of work over the coming weeks”. Now Chief executive Martin Chown admitted he is faced with a difficult decision, but said it is vital Sellafield restarts some work. It is understood this refers to the decommissioning of old facilities that have the potential to cause a nuclear hazard if left to mothball…….. It is understood that a broad set of principles for restarting work at Sellafield have been agreed including a maximum of 3,500 people working on any one site at any given time, a maximum of 25per cent of staff working at off-site facilities, and work on construction sites only approved on the basis staff do not interact with the rest of the site. …. https://www.lancs.live/news/local-news/sellafield-work-must-resume-despite-18234403 |
Move to prevent dumping of Hinkley radioactive mud on the South Wales coast
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The background shows that the Welsh Government believes concerns about the mud are irrational and are driven by “liars and scaremongers” (as the Environment Secretary said in 2018). In fact, in order to comply with the law, they need to address uncertainties and knowledge gaps and that is why we are recommending selection of members with a wide range of relevant knowledge. Please write to your elected representatives and circulate this widely, bearing in mind that Wales is not the only part of the UK affected. What little information the Welsh Government has issued suggests that announcement of the Expert Group’s membership may be imminent, so please act now. They will not want to look as if they’re backing down later. https://wanaarticles418353382.wordpress.com/category/hinkley-mud/ |
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